Shanghai experienced a 5 percent year-on-year surge in its annual GDP for 2023, surpassing 4.72T yuan ($657.09B), as revealed by the city’s statistics bureau on Sunday. This growth was attributed to the emergence of new economic drivers and the expansion of industrial capacity.
Official data from a China Daily report indicates a 1.9 percent increase in the added value of the secondary industry compared to the previous year, while the tertiary industry witnessed a 6 percent annual growth in its added value.
Both consumption and investment, primary contributors to GDP, demonstrated steady improvement. In 2023, Shanghai’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 12.6 percent over the previous year, driven by major shopping events such as the 5th May Shopping Festival.
Investment in fixed assets in Shanghai increased by 13.8 percent in 2023, with notable progress in municipal engineering projects and investments in construction, installation projects, and equipment purchases aimed at expanding production capacity.
Emerging industries displayed strong growth momentum, with new energy vehicles and alternative energy industries experiencing significant spikes. The financial industry, a key strength of Shanghai’s economy, demonstrated steady growth, with the total transaction value of the city’s financial market reaching 3,373.63T yuan in 2023.
Shanghai’s competitiveness in shipping strengthened, maintaining its position as the world’s top container throughput with 49.16 million TEUs.
In terms of research and development, Shanghai’s overall expenditure in 2023 amounted to 4.4 percent of the city’s GDP, and the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reached 50.2 by the end of the year.
Shanghai residents’ disposable per capita income in 2023 was 84,834 yuan, reflecting a nominal annual increase of 6.6 percent. Urban permanent residents saw a nominal 6.5 percent year-on-year increase to 89,477 yuan, while rural permanent residents experienced an 8.2 percent increase to 42,988 yuan.
In 2023, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, and consumer prices grew moderately by 0.3 percent from the previous year, according to WAM.
